Chapter 131.1
To Benjamin, Grace was the only family he had left.
Many houses followed the Duchy of Felton, but of the Felton bloodline itself, only Benjamin remained.
There were a few he could call friends—but not many.
Even if Grace no longer remembered the year they had spent together, Benjamin didn’t mind.
Even if her tastes had changed completely.
Even if she no longer recalled the things she once loved.
Even if, at times, she looked at him like a stranger.
If she was happy, that was enough.
He had thought only of Grace for far longer than the time she could remember.
And now, she was his only person in this world. If she could smile again—like she once had—he would do anything.
Truly anything.
But realizing that the choices he had made to save her had not helped her at all. He felt that his own incompetence pierced him to the bone.
When Benjamin inherited the title of Duke Felton, he had not been fully prepared.
What was thrust upon that inexperienced young man was not only the sudden news of his parents’ deaths—
But also…
“……”
The word that his wife was dying.
* * *
I feel like I’m going to suffocate to death.
Grace had chosen to reveal part of the truth in order to survive. And that choice had summoned an unbearable silence.
The carriage ride back to the ducal estate was suffocatingly heavy.
There had been silences between them before—but this one, she was certain, was the hardest to endure.
I should skip my walk today and just stay holed up in the manor.
Maybe she should look into something else instead.
Just as the carriage stopped before the estate, Benjamin stepped down and said:
“What would you have me do, Wife?”
“…?”
Grace blinked, confused.
Benjamin smoothly escorted her down from the carriage.
“There must have been a reason you kept this from me until now. Which means there are things you do not wish me to do from this point onward.”
Grace’s mind went blank.
It was true she had kept quiet because she couldn’t predict how he would react. But she hadn’t expected this. His cooperation should have been reassuring. Yet his words completely excluded his own feelings.
She had seen him swallow back tears not long ago.
“Your Grace… are you all right?”
“…In a place like this, wouldn’t ‘I’m fine’ be the better answer?”
Which meant he was not fine.
“Your Grace.”
When Grace called him again, he gave her a tired smile.
“To be honest, I am not particularly fine. I believed what I was doing was for your sake. It seems it was not.”
“……”
“Still, now that you’ve told me the truth, I will not repeat such meaningless actions. I will no longer summon priests.”
“About that…”
Grace quickly caught his sleeve.
“There’s something I need to investigate within the capital’s temple. When we visit, I’d like your help.”
“…?”
Benjamin looked at her with a subtle expression she could not decipher. Normally she reads people’s emotions well, but not now.
“I will help you. No—what exactly do you need me to do?”
“I want to look into the deeper areas of the temple. If too many people are watching, it will be difficult. Could Your Grace draw the priests’ attention away from me?”
Someone of Benjamin’s standing wouldn’t be greeted by mere low-ranking priests. The higher clergy would come personally. If he could occupy even a few of them, that would be enough.
“To be frank, I do not like the idea of the Wife going somewhere like that at all.”
Of course you wouldn’t.
Grace understood him completely. She nodded silently.
He had no way of knowing what might be waiting inside. And she herself didn’t fully know the temple’s layout.
The novel described the temple’s interior in absurd detail… but it’s not like I memorized it.
She felt a belated regret.
“If something happens. I suppose we can simply blow it up.”
“…?”
“And distracting them should not be difficult. I will need to send word to the Viscounty Anglez soon.”
Why them?
Grace considered asking, but suspected he wouldn’t explain. And if she knew too much, she might become too distracted to focus.
Perhaps their punishment hasn’t been properly dealt with yet.
That was the conclusion she settled on, giving a small nod.
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